


Broken Yet Unbeaten

by darkartifices



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Post-Calamity, Zelda - Freeform, botw zelink - Freeform, just give them peace and happiness, link - Freeform, zelink
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 04:13:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15040463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkartifices/pseuds/darkartifices
Summary: Link and Zelda have a much-needed talk after the defeat of the Calamity.





	Broken Yet Unbeaten

**Author's Note:**

> So, I've been in a Zelink mood this entire week, and I decided to write this, my first ever Zelink fic. Comments are appreciated!
> 
> (Just let these babies breathe.)

“I’m sorry.”

Link paused eating and looked up, a slight crease between his eyebrows. “What for?”

Zelda took a breath, shifting slightly on the ground where they both sat underneath an old hut, sheltered from the hot sun. Link had cooked some fish and mushroom skewer, and while Zelda finished her portion minutes ago, Link was still raving at his second. But now, he looked concerned, and Zelda spoke the words that have been on her mind ever since they departed towards Zora’s Domain.

“Everything. For not preventing this calamity sooner. For not being wiser. For putting everyone I knew, everyone who I haven’t met before, in danger. I’m sorry, Link, for… For not being able to save you before it was too late.”

Link had set his plate down then, both of his hands resting on his lap. Zelda couldn’t read the expression on his face, couldn’t unmask the words flowing through his thoughts. In another world, she had slowly gotten him to open up to her, to answer her questions, to share his deepest fears. Now, it felt as if everything had vanished, and she was facing another Link – one that couldn’t understand his own thoughts himself. Her heart hurt because of the ruin she caused him.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

Ever the silent, stoic knight, reserved to only a few words. She sighed. “How much, exactly, do you remember?”

Link looked down. “Some things. They flee from my mind. Your memories,” he added.

Right. The memories she had left for him, the pictures on the Sheikah Slate. “Is that all?” she asked.

“Things from my childhood. I can feel the salt of the Domain hitting my skin. I can hear my father’s footsteps on the wooden floor. But that’s it. No solid memories.”

“I–” She was about to say _I’m sorry_ again, but she caught herself. “I do not know the effects of being laid in the Shrine. I would imagine one hundred years would take a toll on your memories. I do not know for how long, though.”

“It’s okay,” Link said. He looked outside, at the clear blue skies, at the vibrant rolling plains of Hyrule Field, at the outline of Hyrule Castle in the distance. The air around them was fresher, Link could tell, and the brightness was a striking contrast to what had been before.

 _It’s okay._ Yes, Zelda thought. Perhaps things were okay.

Zelda followed Link’s gaze. From this far, it seemed like nothing had happened: Hyrule Castle was still intact, the land was still prosperous, the people were still alive and happy. But Zelda knew better than to imagine a different world – one where she did not fail, one where she did not destroy the lives of those around her.

She just needed to assure herself that Link – despite his lack of memory – knew that she was sorry. That she did not mean for all of this chaos to occur.

“Zelda,” Link said. She looked at him now, his blonde locks falling over his face, his Champion’s tunic stained from the fight, the Master Sword resting at his side. She felt an irresistible urge to push those locks back.

“Yes?” she immediately responded, surprised at his use of her name. He had been calling her Princess ever since they reunited. _Step by step_ , Zelda reminded herself. “Link?”

“How did it feel for you?”

Zelda understood what he meant. _How did it feel, being trapped inside the Castle, battling the Calamity?_ She thought to herself. Everything had been a blur, and now that she was finally free, she completely banished the memories from one hundred years past from her mind.

But now, she allowed herself to remember. _How_ did _it feel?_ She found herself beginning to speak.

“It felt like… A sword dance. A clashing of thunder and lightning and rain in the sky. I was intertwined with it, constantly trying to suppress it, to block it from slipping through my shield. Never once did it lose fight, and the only reprieve was through you.” Zelda looked away, taking a breath.

“I found myself from being caught in the dance to suddenly gazing down at you. It just happened randomly – I couldn’t control it. I tried holding on to the visions, but they went away quickly, and I was in the fight again. I managed to break free just to warn you of the Blood Moons, but its power grew stronger during them, and I wasn’t sure how long mine would stay.” She faced Link once again, his steady gaze never once leaving hers. “You came right when I thought I was going to fall.” She smiled – a sad, empty one. “Thank you. For everything.”

She waited anxiously for his response, worried that she had said too much. She almost jumped when she heard him take a breath.

“And to think,” he began, a hint of a smile on his face, “I was spending one hundred years of my life _sleeping_. I should be the one sorry.”

Zelda looked at him, shocked. She opened her mouth, ready to retaliate, but instead, she found herself laughing. Laughing at his response, laughing at the look on his face, laughing at the entire prospect of their lives and what had gotten them here, at this moment. 

Her vision refocused on Link, whose face resembled a confused look as if he wasn’t sure if her laughing was a good thing.

“I–I didn’t intend for it to be  _that_ funny,” he said sheepishly.

Zelda regained her breath, her smile hurting her face. “No,” she agreed. “I suppose we never do." 

Before he could respond, Zelda embraced him, and she hoped he understood that she was grateful for his dedication, for his fight, for him. She felt his hands around her back, tightening against her body, and they sat like that, in each other’s arms, a newfound hope in both of their hearts that perhaps they _can_ manage to restore Hyrule, to leave the past and continue onward.

And so, broken yet unbeaten, they will.


End file.
